Cirrus@Austlit

Hidden under the shadow of Gallipoli for decades, the breathtaking story of what really happened on the Western Front has finally been brought into the bright light of day.

'Five times greater than Gallipoli, the Western Front had:

• five times more soldiers (250 000 rather than 50 000)
• more than five times the amount of men killed (46 000 compared to 8709)
• more than five times as many battles, with troops serving there for four times longer, and
• five times the sum of Victoria Crosses earned (a total of 53).

'Thankfully, the diggers serving in this first Australian Army Corps and under an Australian commander for the first time, actually helped win the war.

'Using hundreds of brutally honest and extraordinary eyewitness accounts of the diggers in the muddy and bloody trenches, Western Front Diaries reproduces their private diaries, letters and postcards to tell of their heart-rending experiences, battle by bloody battle.

'With its gallery of unpublished photographs, Western Front Diaries tells without embellishment the stories of the Australian soldiers and finally puts the Western Front on the map. (From the publisher's website.)